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Despite ‘vicious’ backlash and death threats, environmentalist Tzeporah Berman is determined to speak in Alberta

EDMONTON—When news broke last week that Tzeporah Berman would be the keynote speaker at a conference for Alberta teachers, the backlash was immediate — and Berman says it’s now crossed a line.

The well-known environmental activist and former member of the province’s Oil Sands Advisory Group said that since the news broke she’s received death threats and “vicious calls” from those opposed to her anti-oilsands views.

Tzeporah Berman has been receiving death threats and “vicious” phone calls from people after it was announced she would speak about resource industry issues to teachers in Alberta in October. (Kris Krug)

Berman is slated to speak about climate change, Indigenous issues and global trends in the energy industry at an upcoming conference for educators, entitled Grounded in Truth, Soaring with Knowledge. The optional event is being hosted by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) in Enoch, just outside Edmonton, in October. A spokesperson for the ATA said it’s one of several dozen conferences the organization hosts every year, events that bring in hundreds of speakers.

Berman said in an interview with StarMetro on Tuesday that the issues around climate change, renewable energy, the economy and how each of those things affect jobs are complex and that dialogue on all sides is paramount to sorting it out.

“This push to really quell any dissent and the hostilities ... I think they don’t serve us well,” she said. “The personal nature of the attacks and the push to ensure that I don’t speak in the province, I think, is disheartening.”

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Alberta’s Minister of Education David Eggen said in an emailed statement to StarMetro that “when it comes to Alberta’s oilsands, Berman is dead wrong.”

“Her upcoming speech to the ATA has no bearing on the curriculum work being overseen by myself,” Eggen said.

United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney tweeted, “When I first heard that the teachers’ union bosses were honouring Tzeporah Berman, I honestly thought it was a joke. I guess in a way it is a joke — but the joke is on everyday Albertans.”

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“Union members should not be forced to pay for this,” tweeted Derek Fildebrandt, interim leader of the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta, “and we should give them the right to opt out.”

Berman said she feels the animosity ahead of her Alberta speech — but she’s used to it. It’s the death threats she’s received since last week that have her requesting security meet her at the airport when she arrives.

“Over the past week, I’ve received a lot of vicious calls and emails and some death threats. So it’s easier as a woman if I don’t travel alone,” said Berman.

The ATA confirmed to StarMetro that it would be open to providing security.

Berman formerly worked for Alberta’s NDP government in 2016 with the Oil Sands Advisory Group. Her job as co-chair included making recommendations to help achieve the country’s and province’s climate goals.

Some of Berman’s controversial views include using civil disobedience to stop fossil-fuel industry developments and promote action on environmental issues. She said it’s not something she would ever tell students to do.

“I would never say to someone else, and certainly not a student, ‘This is what you should do.’ I think civil disobedience is a very hard personal choice,” she said. “I don’t like it, I don’t like doing it, and I don’t like going to jail, but sometimes it’s necessary and I think history has proven that.”

Canada has planned to reduce fossil fuel emissions by up to 80 per cent of 2005 levels by 2050. Berman said that’s why she’s anti-fossil-fuel development but also pro-dialogue since the economic issues surrounding emission reduction are many.

“Just attacking people who are trying to have the conversation isn’t going to help us.”

The associate co-ordinator of communications with the ATA, Jonathan Teghtmeyer, said on Tuesday they will feature a “high-profile” keynote speaker from the oil-and-gas industry to speak alongside Berman.

Teghtmeyer said three smaller councils within the ATA started organizing the conference about a year ago. They are the Social Studies Council, Global Environmental and Outdoor Education Council and First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Council.

“I don’t think they appreciated how much of a lightning rod this particular speaker was going to be,” Teghtmeyer said, adding that the context has changed considerably due to the Trans Mountain pipeline project being quashed by the Federal Court of Appeal in August.

“They were looking for a topic that would be worthy of debate and discussion, and maybe controversial, but they didn’t necessarily expect this significant of a reaction.”

About two weeks ago, Teghtmeyer said, the ATA began searching for the second energy industry keynote speaker once they learned of Berman’s inclusion from organizers. He said they decided to do so “in the anticipation” of a backlash.

“We very much believe that teachers, the audience for this conference, are smart and thoughtful professionals,” said Teghtmeyer. “They’re capable of examining multiple viewpoints and considering different perspectives on important and current issues in society.”

Kristen Frost, a junior high school teacher in Leduc, Alta., said she’s “a little shocked” by the government’s reaction to Berman speaking to teachers and supports the ATA including voices from both sides of the issue. She called the government attempting to limit who speaks to teachers “concerning.”

“As educators, we need to play devil’s advocate,” Frost said. “We need to understand both sides of the story so that we can help our students make educated decisions with these problems in the future.”

She said it’s important for her students to understand Alberta’s reliance on the energy industry, but it’s also important for them to hear about the negative impacts of the industry on the climate.

“I think if we only talk about what the government is trying to pursue at any given time, then we’re teaching them to be very partisan — and education is about them creating their own opinions.”

Kieran Leavitt is an Edmonton-based reporter. Follow him on Twitter: @kieranleavitt

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